Friday Flashbacks: Memoirs of an Invisible Man

Memoirs of an Invisible Man 1992
Director: John Carpenter
Writers: Robert Collector, Dana Olsen and William Goldman
Starring Chevy Chase, Daryl Hannah, Sam Neill, Michael McKean, Stephen Tobolowsky, Jim Norton, Pat Skipper and Patricia Heaton
This in my opinion is one of Carpenter’s most underrated films. It works well as both a comedy and as a thriller. Chevy Chase gives one of his best performances in this film and you really sympathize with his character. It also has a great villain in the persona of Sam Neill, for me he is definitely the high point of the film. He is so oily evil you cannot help but like him. There are many films about invisibility from The Invisible Man to Hollow Man and this film is by far one of my favorites. The technical aspects of invisibility are pulled off very well and you are never disbelieving what you are watching. This is not a film that has many of the Carpenter touches but it is still a ably done film. This is a fun film from a genre master.
The plot basics are this, Nick Holloway (Chase) is a unassuming business executive who through a freak accident becomes invisible. This is discovered by Jenkins (Neill) a shady operative in the CIA and he wants to recruit Nick into the world of espionage but Nick just wants to get back to normal. Nick also meets Alice (Hannah) and Nick and her have to run from Jenkins because he will not take no for an answer. While Nick is escaping his pursuers he is also trying to find a cure before Jenkins finds him and forces him to do what he wants. He has to stay one step ahead of Jenkins if he wants to survive.
This is a fun and entertaining film. Caprenter’s direction as always is tight and he does the invisibility scenes with a real panache. The film also shows he has great comedic timing. The script is very good too; the voiceover of Holloway’s really carries the film and really makes you sympathize with the lead character. The cast is excellent. Chase is excellent as Holloway and really carries the movie. He uses his comedic edge well but is also able to pull off the action required in the film. Hannah as Alice is a great romantic lead and very fun to watch. Neill is really smarmy and slick as Jenkins and a pleasure to watch. He makes a great villain. The SFX effects are phenomenal, especially for the time the film was made the invisibility effects till look damn good. I actually think they are still better than the effects in Hollow Man. The score by Shirley Walker is beneficial to the film as well and sets the tone for the film and this is one of the few Carpenter films where he did not due the score himself. This is one of Carpenter’s underrated films and definitely worth a second look.
This one gets 4 out of 5